Street Outreach Specialist

WE OFFER EXCELLENT BENEFITS:

• FREE Employee Medical Insurance
• FREE Employee Dental Insurance
• FREE Employee Vision Insurance
• Sick leave (8 hours of paid sick leave per month)
• Vacation (Minimum of 2 weeks paid vacation)
• Discounted health memberships
• Retirement (Employer contribution - 3% contribution and an additional 3% employer match)
• FREE Long-Term Disability Insurance
• FREE Life Insurance
• 13 Paid Holidays
  

Mission of Catholic Charities

Feed the hungry, heal the hurting, welcome the stranger.

CCEW is an equal opportunity employer. All employees and potential employees will be recruited, selected, trained, promoted, compensated and, if necessary, disciplined or terminated without regard to sex, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, immigration status, religious affiliation, marital status, military veteran status, age, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, genetic information, or any other basis protected by law.

Job Summary

The Street Outreach Specialist will work closely with Spokane Police Department, (SPD) Code Enforcement (HOT), Spokane Fire Department (SFD), and Community Housing and Human Services (CHHS) in the City of Spokane to assist with outreach to homeless individuals and encampments in the community. This will include traditional street outreach, coordination with housing systems and resources in the community, and responding to requests for service through 311 and officer-initiated calls.  

Job Duties/Responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform each of the essential duties/responsibilities listed below.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties/responsibilities of this job. 

1. Provide street outreach services—per CHG best practice guidelines—to assist individuals in unsheltered situations and encampments within the City of Spokane.
2. Assist street outreach clients in connecting with resources, including the Housing Navigation Center, treatment services, and other individualized services to assist with stabilization.
3. Coordinate with the City’s Encampment Resolution Program (ERP), including submitting referrals for shelter and housing through HMIS.
4. Coordinate closely with the Spokane Police Department and Code Enforcement (HOT) on encampment abatement.
5. Respond to community requests for outreach (through the 311 system) or officer-initiated calls for services.
6. Providing highly supportive—rather than directive—advocacy and resource triaging through a trauma-informed lens.
7. Develop and maintain deep partnerships with outreach teams and service from other agencies in the community working with the unhoused population, particularly in housing, recovery, behavioral health, and medical fields.
8. Represent Catholic Charities regularly in community outreach meetings and with partners in the City of Spokane, including SPD, SFD, and CHHS.
9. Assist clients with setting goals, developing action plans, and solving problems directly related to recovery, housing, employment, and other stabilization needs.
10. Partner with local CoC Coordinated Assessment, HNC, ERP, and any other systems in the community to connect households with homeless housing resources.
11. Enter data into our local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
12. Prepare monthly and quarterly reporting per grant requirements.
13. Uses appropriate administrative, fiscal, physical, and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of CCEW client protected health information (PHI), per regulations outlined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
14. Will regularly utilize all forms of communication (email, text, phone, etc.) and database practices necessary for this position and as directed by supervisor.
15. As a mandated reporter, follows all procedures outlined in agency policies and procedures to report to the proper agency when there is suspicion and/or confirmation that a child or adult has been a victim of abuse or neglect.
16. Adhere to the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Doctrine.
17. Perform related functions necessary to support the mission and core values of Catholic Charities.

Job Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must meet the minimum qualifications listed below. These qualifications are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required to perform this job. 

Education/Experience:
to perform this job successfully, an individual must have a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Services or related field – or a Peer Support or Community Health Worker certification – and at least 3 years of experience in the social services field including at least one year of direct service to unhoused individuals.

 Required Skills:

• Experience working with issues of homelessness, substance abuse/addiction, mental health and/or poverty
• High level of professionalism, and ability to navigate sometimes difficult situations with community partners while effectively representing the agency.
• Ability to stay calm and work effectively to resolve crisis situations.
• High-energy, self-motivated, and self-disciplined team –player.
• Ability to easily adapt to change.

Preferred Skills:

• Lived experience that allows the successful candidate to understand and relate to program clients.

Certificates/Licenses: To perform this job successfully, an individual must have a Driver’s License and the ability to drive for work use. Must successfully pass background check as applicable to position. 

Physical Abilities:  To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to:

• Frequently sit, stand, climb, walk, lift, pull/push, carry, grasp, reach, talk, hear, taste, or smell.

Mental & Other Skills/Abilities: To perform this job successfully, an individual must have the:

• Adaptability: ability to adapt to changes, delays or unexpected events in the work environment; ability to manage competing demands and prioritize tasks; ability to change approach or method to best fit the situation.
• Attendance: ability to consistently arrive and be able to work as scheduled.
• Computer/Technical Ability:
  working knowledge of: Word Processing software, Internet software.
• Dependability: ability to follow instructions, both in written and verbal format; ability to respond to management direction; ability to complete tasks on time or notify the appropriate person with an alternate plan when necessary.
• Interpersonal Skills: ability to maintain satisfactory relationships with others, excellent customer service skills and a good overall understanding of appropriate human relations. Awareness of and sensitivity to the service population’s culture and socioeconomic characteristics. 
• Judgment:ability to make prudent and timely decisions; ability to exhibit sound and accurate judgment; ability to explain reasoning for decisions.
• Language Ability: ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals; ability to write routine reports and correspondence; ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.
• Mathematical Ability: ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals; ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.
• Problem Solving Ability: ability to identify and/or prevent problems before they occur; ability to formulate alternative solutions to problems when necessary; ability to transfer learning from past experiences to new experiences of similar nature.
• Reasoning Ability: ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed but uninvolved written or oral instructions; ability to deal with problems involving a few concrete variables in standardized situations.
• Supervisory Skills:
  this job does not have any direct supervisory responsibilities.

Workplace Environmental Conditions

While performing the essential duties/responsibilities of this job, the employee will be:

• Working with client population that may include persons involved in gangs, substance abuse, chronic homelessness, mental health disorders and/or tendencies towards violent behavior.
• Exposure to Trauma: Employees of Catholic Charities Eastern Washington provide direct services to vulnerable community members including those who have behavioral health challenges and those who have been exposed to trauma.